Motor skill learning in Parkinson's disease

doi:10.1016/0022-510X(96)00060-3

Journal of the Neurological Sciences

Volume 139, Issue 2, August 1996, Pages 218-226

https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510X(96)00060-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

The motor performance of patients with Parkinson's disease is degraded, but it is unclear whether their motor learning (adaptation learning and skill learning) ability is impaired. To assess the ability of these patients to learn motor tasks, we studied nine Parkinson's disease patients and eight age-matched normal (control) subjects who repetitively traced, as rapidly and accurately as possible, irregular geometric patterns with normal and mirror-reversed vision. The outcome was measured by statistical analysis and graphic plotting of values for actual and standardized performance variables and correlation of data from initial and final performance variables with indicators of disease severity. The results showed that, with normal vision, total movement time was reduced in both patients and normal subjects, but movement errors increased with repetition, apparently reflecting a speed-accuracy trade-off and adaptation learning. With mirror-reversed vision, total movement time and movement errors were reduced equally with repetition in both groups. These concomitant improvements in time and accuracy violate the rule of speed-accuracy trade-off and suggest that this behavior reflects true motor skill learning. We conclude that patients with Parkinson's disease do not differ from normal subjects in the processes of motor adaptation and motor skill learning.

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¹: Present address: Laboratorio di Neurofisiologia Clinica, III Clinica Neurologica, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Viale dell'Università 30, 00185 Roma, Italy.

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Research articleMotor skill learning in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Brain Cogn.

Brain Res.

Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol.

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

Historical review and appraisal of research on learning, retention, and transfer of human motor skills

Psychol. Bull.

Disturbance of sequential movements in patients with Parkinson's disease

Brain

Simple and complex movement off and on treatment in patients with Parkinson's disease

J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry

Measurement of visual evoked potentials in Parkinson's disease

Brain

Visual dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Loss in spatiotemporal contrast sensitivity

Brain

Electro-myographic study of the muscles of the upper arm and shoulder during walking in patients with Parkinson's disease

Brain

Motor learning in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) with lesions in motor thalamus

Exp. Brain Res.

Increased dependence on visual information for movement control in patients with Parkinson's disease

Can. J. Neurol. Sci.

Patients with Parkinson's disease can employ a predictive motor strategy

J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry

The disordered movement in parkinsonism and the effect of drug treatment

Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp.

Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale

The information capacity of the human motor system in controlling the amplitude of the movement

J. Exp. Psychol.

The coordination of arm movements: an experimentally confirmed mathematical model

J. Neurosci.

Visual ‘closed-loop’ and ‘open-loop’ characteristics of voluntary movement in patients with parkinsonism and intention tremor

Brain

Some frequency response characteristics of parkinsonism on pursuit tracking

Brain

Impairments in the learning and performance of a new manual skill in patients with Parkinson's disease

J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry

Procedural memory in Parkinson's disease: impaired motor but not visuo-perceptual learning

J. Clin. Exp. Neuropsychol.

Research article
Motor skill learning in Parkinson's disease